THE DEVELOPMENT OF BUKITTINGGI CITY FROM THE 1600S TO 2016: A SPATIAL AND CULTURAL PERSPECTIVE

• Main Author: Safitri D, Ira
• Format: Dissertations
• Language: Indonesia
• Online Access: https://digilib.itb.ac.id/gdl/view/63945
• Institution: Institut Teknologi Bandung

Indonesia is an archipelagic country which has 93 cities. The cities with high development dynamics are mostly located on the islands of Java and Sumatra. Cities are dynamic spaces whose changes are influenced by their strategic location, accessibility, economic growth, availability of infrastructure, socio-cultural characteristics, politics, and urbanization.. Bukittinggi is one of the cities in West Sumatra with high growth dynamics. Based on a social perspective (government, economy, education) of the historic development of the city, Bukittinggi City is believed to be founded by the Dutch. This study aims to describe the historic development of Bukittinggi City from its origin, around the 1600s, to 2016 from a spatial and cultural perspective. Applying this perspective is a new approach for analyzing the historic development of this city. Bukittinggi City has a distinctive culture that differs from most cities in the world because its community has the largest matrilineal culture in the world. Thus, this study enriches the historical research on the development of traditional Indonesian cities. To date, such research has been limited to inland cities on Java Island with a patrilineal culture. This research applied a hermeneutic and multidisciplinary approach. The data were obtained from oral history, Tambo (Minangkabau historical literature), archives, maps, and ancient documents as well as other sources from Indonesia and libraries in the Netherlands. The study used explanatory analysis and longitudinal overlay analysis to reveal the historic development of Bukittinggi City. The maps of urban development were remade using ArcGIS software. The results show that–de facto–the area of Bukittinggi City’s administrative region has remained identical since the 1600s (Nagari Kurai) to 2016. De jure, the city has expanded twice. This first happened during the Japanese Colonial period in 1943 when the city was named Bukittinggi Shi Yaku Sho. The second expansion was regulated by Government Regulation (PP) No. 84 Year 1999 concerning the expansion of Bukittinggi City. Changes in the spatial structure and patterns of Bukitingi City were analyzed using eleven maps. The analysis of the city’s spatial structure showed variousiv development states over time: linear following roads and scattered; concentric and scattered; radial concentric; radial concentric and scattered; and a concentric pattern that is more extensive and dense by filling in empty/interstitial spaces. Meanwhile, the spatial pattern of Bukitinggi City’s has been agricultural; urban-agricultural; and urban. During the colonial period, land use in Bukitinggi City was based on the policy of forced plantations for export commodities and war purposes. The spatial elements of the city have been maintained from the pre-colonial period to 2016, although some are in a state of disrepair or have been modernized. Bukittinggi City’s development started around the 1600s at its initial settlement in Nagari Kurai V Jorong. The city has experienced 29 important milestones, including the construction of Pasar Aur Kuning in 1983 in the eastern part of the city. This market made Bukittinggi's handicrafts increasingly international with exports to neighboring countries and the city became a wholesale center for the Central Sumatra region. This study found that matrilineal culture can play a fundamental role in the formation and development of cities. This is evident from the way how Bukitinggi dealt with problems related to its boundaries and urban expansion. The Kurai peoples used land banking for their descendants to solve coflicts. In addition, the traditional Kurai government applied the concept of customary boundaries of nan salingka nagari, nagari nan salingka aua to restore Bukittinggi’s area to its original state without hindering the city’s development. This research contributes to the literature on the concept of traditional urban space in the interior of Minangkabau, which is named adat basandi syarak. This concept is characterized by a traditional hall adjacent to the jamik mosque. This research provides insights that traditional cities are not only agricultural cities but also as consumptive/trading cities. This research also enriches knowledge about inland cities in Indonesia, namely that inland cities are not always synonymous with agricultural cities but also with trading cities.